


(It'll always be) Simply me and you

by keysburg



Category: Agent Carter (TV)
Genre: Babies, F/M, Fluff, Happy, Justice, Nobody is Dead, Sentimental, Wedding, everyone is happy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-13
Updated: 2016-05-13
Packaged: 2018-06-08 06:39:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,446
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6843280
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/keysburg/pseuds/keysburg
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Daniel and Peggy's life together through the years</p><p>I don't need ABC, I <i>know</i> how this goes.</p>
            </blockquote>





	(It'll always be) Simply me and you

When the day finally arrived, it seemed both sudden and like Daniel had waited forever. The road back from war had been a long one. Recovery and the early years at the SSR felt like a long wait to see if his life would ever resume. A painful, slow and stressful journey that felt longer in contrast. With Peggy, everything had moved fast. From the moment she first kissed him they went hell-for-leather. They made up for lost time despite needing to solve the whole Jack business. The last few months were a whirlwind of work, stolen kisses, and passionate nights. 

Now he stood in the front of a church, the wedding about to begin. It was much larger and much more crowded and boisterous than he expected. He knew his family and friends would fill out their pews and expected a certain amount of excitement from his nieces and nephews. Peggy’s side was bolstered by many well-wishers from the SSR and other military agencies. Not to mention the Howling Commandos, who had clearly already been celebrating. More than one flask was working it’s way through the pews. They might have to find a new church after this.

Then the music started and Daniel forgot about the crowd; the entire room melted away. He watched her walk down the aisle, Peggy perfectly aglow with happiness and eyes glinting with unruly tears. It was more than he once dared hope for, but their life together was about to begin.

* * *

The minute little Stephanie’s coos started to edge into cries, he picked her up from the bassinet and soothed her. Peggy stirred where she had inadvertently fallen asleep on the couch after nursing, but didn’t wake. Daniel’s rhythm was slow as he paced without his crutch. Walking was less painful than rocking his hips like Peggy did. He used both arms to rock the tiny critter in his arms. Her baby blues were already starting to darken to match her wavy dark hair, and she had lovely pale skin and the adorable button nose of her mother. Stephanie was just as beautiful as he imagined she’d be, but he loved her even more than he thought was possible. 

Peggy woke eventually to find them sitting the nursery rocking chair. He hadn’t wanted to put Stephanie down even after she drifted off to sleep, warm and comfortable against his chest. Peggy looked a little more rested after her nap, but still nothing like the assistant director of an intelligence agency. In rumpled pajamas, with her hair loose, she seemed soft and serene. He passed Stephanie to her and headed for the kitchen to start dinner. 

Daniel met Jarvis trying to sneak in quietly through the backdoor. He was loaded down with clean laundry, a casserole for the freezer, and Ana’s strawberry rugelach. The Jarvis’ were a constant presence in their lives. Peggy was from a small family and surprised, if pleased, by the fuss they made over the kids. It reminded Daniel of the tight-knit community where he grew up. An English butler doing the laundry wasn’t something he expected, but it was home.

* * *

It’s unprecedented for Daniel to release his Investigation and Deduction class early, but today’s a special day at Headquarters. Teaching eager young agents to think critically would have to wait. He’d gotten a fair amount of extra ribbing from everyone the last few weeks, asking him who wears the pants at home. They are old jokes he’s heard for years, so his response was well honed. _I like working for an agency where the best person always gets the job. Don’t you?_

There’s a seat reserved for him up front but he snuck in and stood at the back. It was a better vantage point to watch the reactions of others and made it more likely his would go unnoticed. It seemed like the entire agency had turned out for this, even agents he knew were supposed to be on assignment. The room buzzed with excitement when the Vice President entered, but it fell silent when Peggy stood. Margaret Carter was sworn in by the Vice President as Director of SHIELD as they all watched, Daniel bursting with pride for the love of his life.

* * *

“ _Jack Francisco Sousa._ ” His voice carried a warning that froze his son in his tracks. Jack Francisco had been about to dump a handful of dirt down the back of someone’s dress, but at a shake of Daniel’s head, he dropped it and slumped off. _I sound just like Pai_ , Daniel thought.

“Boys seem like a handful,” Thompson commented. “Considering what I was like growing up, I’m not sorry I only have girls.” Jack was flipping burgers and hotdogs on a grill while they drank cold beers and watched the kids play in the back yard. 

“He’s starting high school next year, so hopefully more school work will keep him occupied. Stephanie is even worse. She’s just sneakier, so it’s harder to catch her in the act.”

“Just like her mom, then?” Jack asked. “I’m thankful the girls also inherited Gloria’s temperament.” At the mention of his wife a huge burst of laughter came from inside the house, where she and Peggy were supposedly mixing up lemonade for the kids. 

“Good thing they got her smarts, too. You never did tell me how you landed such a great gal, Jack,” Daniel said. “It can’t be easy on her when you have to drop things and run off for work.” Jack was in charge of Field Operations and it meant long days and nights supervising operations. 

“When I figure out how I got so lucky, I’ll tell you,” he answered. His smile was broader than Daniel had ever seen. “I am trying to delegate more these days. I love the work but we’re not as young as we once were, are we?”

* * *

“Are we sure it’s her?” The woman in lock up looked like it could be Dottie Underwood, but then so did the five or six decoys they had arrested over the years. 

“My gut says yes. Hank says he has a way to check her DNA and make sure, though.” Peggy was studying the prisoner for the tells she had studied for decades. Her hair was almost entirely grey now, but the look of fierce satisfaction in Peggy’s eyes was unmistakable. All these years later and Daniel still felt fierce love and pride and joy, just looking at her.

“I’ll verify her identity the usual way,” he offered. This new DNA profiling might work, but he wanted to know for himself that all the facts lined up. 

“You’re retired, Daniel. I tasked that to Agent Coulson,” Peggy said. 

“That cocky kid?” Daniel asked. “Do you think he’s up to it?” 

“Yes,” Peggy smiled. “He’s very thorough. He reminds me of you, actually.” 

“I don’t ever remember being that young,” Daniel sighed. 

“We’ve always been at war, haven’t we? He’s just joined the fight.”

“I’m still going to want to read his report.”

“I’m sure if you offer, he’d be happy to have you look it over. He’s aware of our history with Dottie--and shows a certain disrespect for protocol, when necessary.”

“No wonder you like him.” 

Later it’s confirmed: they have finally apprehended _the_ Dottie Underwood. Peggy could finally retire, satisfied. 

She doesn’t, yet.

* * *

“We’re going to be late,” he called. Fancy new prosthetic or not, his hips still ached as he shuffled into the bedroom. Getting old was not for sissies. Peggy was seated at the vanity, dressed to the nines but staring through the mirror. 

“Sorry! Sorry, I just got lost in thought.” Peggy shook herself and applied her lipstick. 

“I don’t know if they’ll wait,” Daniel teased. “You’re only the guest of honor. You’re not still mad the Senator insisted on presenting your career service award, are you?”

“I made sure the press release included a paragraph about how I’m meeting with him later to discuss some of his policies,” she said. “He doesn’t know it yet, but if he’s going to use this event to look more “woman-friendly,” I will tell him exactly what that means.

"No, I was thinking about how nice to finally have some things declassified, so the kids really know what we did now. And then I was thinking about when they were small, how hard it was to explain--and then I thought about when we were first married--”

“Any regrets?” he asked. 

“I made my share of mistakes at work,” she said thoughtfully. “You know there were hard choices; even time hasn’t told if I made all the right ones. You, my love--you were the _best_ one.”

**Author's Note:**

> Graciously beta'd by the lovely [ Paeonia ](http://archiveofourown.org/users/Paeonia/pseuds/Paeonia) (and I stole some of her fic stuff again)
> 
> Jack Thompson, father of only girls from [ this tumblr post ](http://em2mb.tumblr.com/post/142821931738)
> 
>  [Suggested Reading Order for my canon compliant post S2 fics](http://katiekeysburg.tumblr.com/post/162241330814/ever-wonder-what-order-my-post-season-2-agent)


End file.
